“I like wearing it.” As awkward as I am, I’m not totally understanding exactly what he’s saying. Does he like seeing me in Forsaken stuff or his stuff?
It doesn’t matter, I realize. Because we’re here together, and he’s being sweet. He takes my hand and leads me off the concrete lot and down the jagged shoreline to Glass Beach. It’s a gorgeous spot, really. Millions of little shards of glass have shored up here, morphing and chiseling themselves into beautiful rocks that look like priceless stones. Individually, they’re pretty enough, but all together as they blanket the shoreline, they’re incredible.
He walks us to a spot that’s fairly dry and sits down. He leans up against a flat rock and motions for me to come to him. I lean down and go to sit beside him, but he reaches out and pulls me into his lap. I screech and laugh at the sudden change in direction, then settle in. Even though I know his good mood won’t last, I want to enjoy this calm before the storm.
“Warmer?” he asks. I nod my head, not wanting to speak. Anything I say is going to ruin the moment, I just know it. “Good, so now maybe you can fucking explain what you were doing listening in at the chapel while Church is in session.”
“Are you going to yell?” I ask quietly. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close to him. “Because quite frankly I’d rather just sit here and cuddle if talking leads to yelling.”
“I got reason to yell,” he says.
I squirm in his lap and get comfortable, then place my head on his shoulder. “I still have to find out why Mindy and Holly were attacked.”
“Club business, babe. How many times do I got to explain that shit?”
“Don’t give me that crap.” I sound like a petulant child, but I can’t help it. “I’m doing what I have to do.”
“I told you that I’d keep you safe,” he says in a rather unkind and sterile voice. I don’t want to lose soft Jeremy, but at least this is a Jeremy I can fight with.
“Dad said the same thing about Holly,” I say. “He swore she was safe and nothing bad would happen to her, but something bad did happen. Leo Scavo raped Mindy and forced Holly to watch. He probably hurt Darren Jennings, too. At least he’s getting better and can maybe tell someone what happened.”
“Wait,” he says in a firm voice that silences my whining. “I don’t even want to know how you know that name, but before you keep running your mouth, let me school you on something. I’m sure Scavo’s done a lot of fucked up shit in his life, but one thing he did not do is rape Mindy.”
“But you guys talk about finding him and how he’s so awful. He showed up at the—”
He tightens his grip around me and shushes me into silence. “Jennings,” he says. “That asshole is no fucking good. He’s not a goddamn victim.”
Nothing makes sense, and suddenly the last several weeks of my life feel like a total waste. How in the hell is Darren not a victim? He’s been in the hospital since the end of summer.
“Nic dated him back in high school. I didn’t fucking realize what was going on. Right under my fucking nose. That asshole made her feel like shit. I think I knew something wasn’t right, but I never really paid any attention. Nic’s a tough bitch. She doesn’t need no sympathy or help or nothing. She’s always able to take care of herself.”
“Who put him in the hospital?” I ask, afraid of the answer. Jeremy ignores my question. His refusal to answer is as much of an admission as if he’d actually said it. Forsaken did it.